Top 5 Keyword Research Tools (Besides Google AdWords Keyword Tools)

Keyword research tools are a valuable asset to the online community, especially to those who are looking to rake in targeted traffic and make their websites as profitable as possible as well as climb the page ranks of every search engine. Without keyword tools it’d be more difficult to determine the in-demand keywords and research trend of any given month; two factors that really contribute to the relevancy of your site, product or offer.

One of the most well known and widely used keyword research tools would no doubt be Google AdWords Keyword Tools or GAKT. It’s usually the very first tool that people are introduced to because it’s easy to use and free; not to mention it’s run by Google, the number one search engine in the world. There are also other notable keyword research tools that are just as effective and offer tools that aren’t available on GAKT.

Below are the top 5 keyword research tools (besides Google AdWords Keyword Tools) that you might want to check out.

Moz (formerly SEOMoz)

Don’t let the change in name fool you. Moz is still and will forever be about SEO amongst other things. What people love about (SEO) Moz is that they offer a wide range of free tools that make keyword research a whole lot more optimized and efficient. It allows you to track your performance on several social media platforms, research and compare links for link building purposes, view link metrics and search engine results page or SERP, complete access to SEO tools while web browsing and many more. And of course there are paid tools including tools for keyword optimization using the On-Page Grader, finding the level of ranking difficulty for any keyword, retrieve SERPs as well as results for keywords, and analyzing the relevancy of your brand, niche and keyword. A monthly subscription service can range anywhere from $99 to $499 a month. You can also get a free 30 day trial to check out the community and what they have to offer.

Market Samurai

For those of you with a flexible budget, and by “flexible” we mean more than the average price of software, Market Samurai can prove to be a very excellent tool for keyword research. While the price of the full version is $149, they do offer a free trial download that lets you explore and try out the many features of Market Samurai. Some of the key features include SEO Competition Analysis which shows you the competition of a keyword in any niche, Keyword Research similar to that of Google’s, Promotion allows you to establish quality back links, Monetization and many more.

Long Tail Pro (Platinum)

Even before Long Tail Pro added the “Platinum” features to its software, it was already a really good tool that many people used for keyword research. And since the update, many more have discovered its usefulness. If you’re going to opt for the original Long Tail Pro version then it’s only a onetime payment of $97, otherwise the upgraded Long Tail Pro Platinum version is a onetime payment of $97 PLUS a $17 monthly recurring fee. The additional $17 a month gets you five additional features which includes Calculate Keyword Competitiveness, Save Favorite Keywords, Import Lists of Keywords (up to 10,000 at once), Auto-search and Track Rankings (coming soon), and Custom Calculations from Keyword Results (also coming soon). And for those of you who want to try before you buy, there is a Free 10-Day Trial offer.

WordTracker

WordTrackers has all the right tools at a very reasonable and affordable price. They’re keyword research promises to save you time, attract more traffic, and improve SERPs. You’ll also be able to find more highly relevant long tail keywords, stalk competitor’s websites and use their highly effective keywords, and efficiently organize all your research data. WordTracker offers two subscriptions, a monthly service for $69 or a yearly one for only $449. Their free 7-day trial includes $136 in bonuses which includes SEO Made Simple and Keyword Basics guides, a Keyword Webinar, and 7 “Profit from Keywords” videos.

SEMRush

Get competitive with SEMRush, the keyword tool that guarantees results one way or another. With this keyword tool you can conduct organic research, analyze your competitor’s Ads text, find quality long tail keywords, and utilize SEO metrics to compare results. You can choose to pay a onetime fee of $79.95 for one month or $69.95 for recurring service every month on the PRO plan. The Guru plan is $149.95 a month and includes more results, more reports, higher API units, and more campaigns as well as extra features like Branded PDF reports and Historical data.

Oliver is the founder of webmaster.net and wants to help other webmasters to grow and optimize their sites. He started creating websites in 2006, turned it into his profession by 2010 and has been working on his websites and services ever since. Connect with him on LinkedIn for frequent webmaster updates.